my heart is strong because I walked on blistered feet

James Kuol Makuac (b. South Sudan, 1976; lives in Nashville) has spent his life navigating between worlds. From the savannahs of South Sudan, to the plains of Ethiopia where he fled civil war, to the refugee camps in Kenya that offered temporary safety. And to Nashville, the city that nurtured his art practice of contemporary Sudanese painting for the past twenty years. 

Makuac’s poetic words punctuate the exhibition, beginning  with the title, “my heart is strong because I walked on blistered feet.” Reminiscent of an African proverb, they denote his penchant for storytelling. Selected pages from his book, My Life Before, pair his paintings with prose. They reveal a profound interiority for anyone who journeys through liminal spaces—between survival and hope, grief and joy, surrender and determination.

Makuac’s paintings are characterized by constant movement through scenes of grave urgency, quiet sublime, or simply rest. He often repeats objects—airplanes, horizons, constellations, flowers—as symbols in his work. His talent as a colorist is evidenced in scenes of midnight blues illuminated by stars or fields ablaze with red sunsets. Makuac, who began painting on rocks, scraps of paper, and discarded wood, continues to boldly explore possibilities in paint. 

As part of his lifelong activism, Makuac uses his work to tell the impossible stories of human tragedy—even more urgent as Sudan is engulfed in war again. Featured in the exhibition is an excerpt from Nashville Refuge, video interviews with Nashville’s immigrant communities who share timely stories of fleeing war-torn countries and the complexities of forced migration.

Engine for Art, Democracy & Justice Vanderbilt University Nashville, Tennessee September 24, 2024–December 20, 2024

The exhibition is part of  Somewhere We Are Human, the 2024-2025 Public Programs and Engagement Series of the Engine for Art, Democracy & Justice (EADJ) at Vanderbilt University, curated by Grace Aneiza Ali. It is organized around the thematic north star—Somewhere We Are Human—a collective vision for a time and space where no one’s humanity is ever in question. The year-long series looks at the city of Nashville and the American South through a lens of migration, exploring the ways immigrant communities have shaped the region’s history and are envisioning its future through art and activism.